A cup of fragrant latte, the deep love between milk and coffee

Latte, I believe everyone is familiar with it. It is a very common coffee drink that is loved by many friends. On a winter afternoon, sitting in Starbucks, ordering a cup of latte, the perfect blend of milk and coffee in the cup, the warmth flowing through the whole body when drinking it, what a relaxing and pleasant time it is!

However, do you really understand latte, which is so highly praised by coffee lovers?

Caffè Latte

"Latte" is a transliteration of the Italian word "Latte", which actually means "milk". The full name of Latte is actually "Caffè Latte", which means "coffee + milk".

If you have the opportunity to go to Italy, remember to say its full name when ordering latte in a cafe. If you only order a cup of "Latte", the barista will really only bring you a cup of milk.

The preparation of latte is also very simple, just like its name suggests, it is just "coffee + milk".

Usually, baristas use espresso as the base, and then pour hot milk into the coffee. When the coffee and milk blend perfectly, a cup of fragrant latte is born. Experienced baristas will also draw various fancy patterns on it, which is also the charm of latte coffee that can capture a large number of fans around the world.

There are two common styles of latte coffee: Italian latte and American latte. Italian latte is coffee + pure milk, while American latte has some milk foam added to the milk. As for the ratio of milk to coffee, there is actually no unified standard, and it can be adjusted according to personal taste.

For example, Starbucks has a "strong latte" which is made by adding an extra portion of "espresso" to the regular latte to make the coffee more concentrated. If you prefer a lighter taste, you can also increase the amount of milk to dilute the concentrated base. With milk diluting the bitterness of the coffee, the originally strong and heavy Italian espresso instantly becomes smooth, warm and mellow.

The origin of latte

The history of latte can be traced back to Vienna in the 17th century.

A musician once said: "I am either in a café or on my way to a café." He was the first Viennese musician to put milk into coffee and create Caffè Latte. To this day, the charming Bohemian music and the taste of Caffè Latte still float in the streets and alleys of Vienna.

In 1638, the Ottoman Empire attacked Vienna, which had signed an alliance with Poland at that time. As long as the Emperor of Vienna informed Poland of the news, the Polish army would come to reinforce.

However, the Turkish army had surrounded Vienna, and in that era without wireless communication, letters could only be delivered by people. So Kochilski volunteered. He had traveled in the Ottoman Empire for several years and was fluent in Turkish. With this advantage, he deceived the Ottoman army, successfully broke through the siege, crossed the Danube, and delivered the message to Poland.

Later, the Polish army rushed to the rescue, and under the double attack of the Vienna army and the Polish army, even the brave and combative Turks had to retreat. This is the famous "Battle of Vienna" in Western history.

Coffee originated in Ethiopia, Africa. After it spread to the Ottoman Empire, the Turks once monopolized the coffee market and strictly prohibited the export of coffee. However, after the defeat of the Battle of Vienna, the Ottoman army retreated in a hurry and left dozens of sacks of coffee beans outside the city of Vienna.

However, the people of Vienna did not know what these black beans were. But Kochilski, who had traveled to the Ottoman Empire, knew that this was a magical drink. So, Kochilski asked the Emperor of Vienna to give him these coffee beans as a reward for his breaking through the siege and delivering the letter. After receiving dozens of sacks of coffee beans, Kochilski opened the first local coffee house in Vienna.

In this way, coffee, which had been monopolized by the Ottoman Empire for centuries, entered Europe.

However, Europeans did not seem to be very fond of this strange black drink, which led to Kochisky's coffee shop having a poor business for a time. Later, Kochisky tried to change the coffee recipe and added a lot of milk to the coffee, and thus, "Caffè Latte" was born!

Matcha Latte

Latte has been around until today and has developed many different styles.

As mentioned above, "Latte" does not mean coffee. When tea from the East was introduced to Europe and combined with latte, "Green Tea Latte" and "Black Tea Latte" were born. These tea lattes are different from coffee lattes in that they do not contain coffee but are made with tea.

In the eyes of latte art lovers, even "everything can be latte"! Basically, two liquids with different colors will be used by baristas with wild imagination to make latte art, which also leads to the continuous emergence of new members in the latte family.

It can be said that latte is not only a drink, but also an art and a quality of life. Especially at a time when specialty coffee is highly respected, a good cup of latte can attract a lot of fans to a coffee shop. Even people who are not used to drinking coffee usually can't forget the mellow and smooth taste of latte after tasting it.